LONDON'S BEST FAMILY FESTIVALS
- AG
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
The Top Children's Festivals in the Capital - as Nominated by YOU in the Time Well Spent Awards 2025
From technicolour foam engulfing London's streets, robot building, kaleidoscopic labyrinths full of musicians, giant planets and monster circuses, nowhere does a family festival like the Big Smoke.
You have nominated London's best family festivals - below - and there is no way we could choose the cream of the festival crop from these titans, so it's over to you.
The ultimate winner will be announced in August.
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Greenwich + Docklands International Festival
From death-defying vertical dances on St Paul’s Cathedral, to engulfing the streets with technicolour foam and sinking a house for a rooftop dance, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF) never disappoints.
And last year was no exception, with THAW, an eight-hour, aerial performance on a suspended 2.5 tonne block of ice in Newham; a synchronised pram party, plus 50 theatre, circus, dance and performance art shows across the the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Newham and the City of London across 17 days.
Greenwich+Docklands International Festival. Multiple locations across Royal Borough of Greenwich, Newham and the City of London
The Great Exhibition Road Festival
South Kensington’s FREE, annual celebration of science and the arts has inspired your little ones with a mind-boggling range of events from cultural titans including Imperial College London, the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, V&A.
Our readers' highlights included extracting DNA from a strawberry, learning about guts by taking on the inflatable bungee run, building a robot, creating an earthquake, and taking on a tour of the human body.
There is also a Family Fun Zone and interactive storytelling on the Family Stage.
The Great Exhibition Road Festival Exhibition Road and around South Kensington.
Imagine Festival
One of our favourite children’s events - and yours, judging by your nominations - turned 23 in February, but it has no intention of growing up, and entertains children each year with a gaggle of events, many of which are FREE.
Southbank Centre’s annual arts festival for children aged 0-11 explodes with events, spanning theatre, dance, music, poetry, literature, art and trails.
Highlights this year included a 10th birthday party for much-loved supermarket superhero Supertato; beloved book There’s a Bear on My Chair being brought to life for the first time, and the first opportunity in a decade to spend a magical morning with Dog Man creator, Dave Pilkey;
Imagine Festival. Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
Children’s Puppet Festival
Little Angel Theatre's award-winning puppet festival returned last August, across both Little Angel venues with a programme that was brimming with shows from the most exciting UK and international companies currently making theatre for young audiences, from the Zoo that Comes to You, full of extraordinary puppet animals, to the beautiful Lottie, The Living Doll.
There were fabulous workshops to get involved with as well, like making ice cream puppets to take home, a Monster Circus Workshop or making walking, cardboard dinosaurs.
Little Angel Studios, 132 Sebbon St, London N1 2EH and Little Angel Theatre, 14 Dagmar Passage, London N1 2DN
The Islander Festival
A mini island has been fizzing away on London's Leamouth Peninsula, in the shape of the Good Luck Hope neighbourhood, brimming with creatives, from English National Ballet’s HQ to galleries and lightship recording studios.
With so many cultural titans bursting from this riverside retreat, Goodluck Hope’s Islander Festival has not disappointed, with a packed series of alfresco summer events for all ages, from sunrise yoga and drag bingo to ballet, Shakespearean walking theatre and wine tastings.
The Islander Festival, Goodluck Hope, Orchard Pl, London E14 0JZ
Colourscape Music Festival
The brilliantly bonkers Colourscape Music Festival captured our readers' imaginations, with a gaggle of votes.
It invites guests to head through a kaleidoscopic labyrinth of 70, brightly coloured tunnels and discover deliciously eccentric performers in various chambers and corners.
Intrepid, neon tunnel explorers might find people making music with amplified tree branches, tuned flower pots and aquaphones, among other wonderfully weird encounters.
Totally Thames Festival
The annual festival celebrating the River Thames brings a month-long program of art, theatre, music, film, tours and cruises along the 42-mile stretch of the river.
It includes a gaggle of kids’ events, like children’s choirs and art workshops, pop-up performances, boating events, installations, river clean-ups, live performances, talks, and workshops.
Totally Thames Festival. Multiple locations along the River Thames
Kensington & Chelsea Festival
With giant planets, swings and flying machines over the past few years, Kensington and Chelsea Festival cemented its place as one of your top London family festivals.
The culture festival has a bulging programme of theatre, circus, opera, dance, music, outdoor arts, family shows, participatory activities, talks, walks and public art pieces across the borough - most of which are free or pay what you can.
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